Those Sinister Smurfs

This post first appeared as “Are the ‘Smurfs’ Fascists?” on The Shmooze blog of The Forward.

The Smurf's enemy Gargamel and his cat Azrael

Just as a whole new generation of kids is about to be introduced to those little blue creatures called Smurfs by a big Hollywood movie to be released this summer, a French writer and professor is warning parents that taking the tykes to the Cineplex might not be such a great idea. According to Antoine Bueno, things are not quite as they might seem in Smurf Village.

In this cute, imaginary, cartoon world, Bueno perceives a cover for a fascist, totalitarian state with racist, sexist and anti-Semitic practices and messages. Bueno is not the first to suggest such ideas, but until now, they were merely the rants of fringe voices from various corners of the Internet. With the professor’s publication this month of his “Le Petit Livre Bleu” (Little Blue Book), these theories appear to be going mainstream.

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